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Why You're Always the Interviewee and Never Hired

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I just finished interviewing potential hires for two open positions at my company, and I was reminded why I founded Come Recommended in the first place.

Back in 2009 when Come Recommended launched, it was a professional networking site for internship and entry-level job candidates and employers. But in order to gain access to the community, all members (including employers) had to “come recommended.”

Our technology allowed potential members to send recommendation invites, which brought recommenders to a page that first asked for their relationship to the candidate or employer and then provided a specific set of questions depending on that relationship. Unlike LinkedIn, Come Recommended members couldn’t choose whether or not to show these recommendations…they immediately appeared on the member’s profile after the recommender hit Submit. Once a member had three recommendations (good or bad), they were granted full access to Come Recommended’s online community.

Why all the trouble just to get into a networking site? Because I was fed up with the exact reason I’m writing this post today: Candidates often look great on paper, only to disappoint majorly at some point during the hiring process. Even though Come Recommended is now a content marketing and digital PR consultancy (I know, complete change of direction), I still find myself butting heads with this issue.

I am convinced — as I have been for a long time — that many more people would be employed if they just took a closer look at what they might be doing “wrong” during their job search.

Instead, they get angry and blame employers and hiring managers for their troubles. Don’t get me wrong, there are way too many companies out there looking for the “perfect” candidate they will never find. But you need to take control of your job search — your career — if you ever hope to be happily employed. And that might even mean paying someone (oh, the horror!) to help you perfect your application materials and hone your job searching skills. Believe it or not, career coaches and resume writers exist to help you — and have valuable skills worth paying for.

I wish I was wrong, I really do. I wish candidates that truly weren’t a good fit for my position looked just as bad on paper as they do during the interview process. Trust me, it would save me a lot of valuable time. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. And that’s not to say these folks aren’t a great fit for some other position out there — they very likely are — but not mine, which is my primary concern.

For one of the two positions I had open, I interviewed approximately 25 people — and had zero problem narrowing the list down to three after interviewing everyone. By their experience on paper (or in this case, their LinkedIn profiles), all 25 should have made excellent hires for this particular position. Why didn’t they? Here are just a few examples:

  • Nervous laughing: I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and call it nervous laughing, although one candidate was laughing so hard during the entire interview that I thought I was being punked on a radio show.
  • Going for a world “you know” record: How many times can someone say “you know” in the same sentence? Six, apparently. In. The. Same. Sentence!
  • Disliking a virtual working environment: One of the questions I ask candidates is what they liked most and what they liked least about their previous positions. One candidate told me she disliked working in a virtual (sometimes called remote or telecommute) environment…which Come Recommended happens to be. (This is made clear in all our job ads.)
  • Calling from a rave: Not one, but two candidates I interviewed had loud music and conversations going on in the background of their interviews. While I can’t confirm they were clubbing, it sure sounded like it.
  • Putting me on hold: Yes, that’s right, one candidate put me on hold for a while to confer with someone else in the room before answering a question.
  • Telling me your life story: The first question I ask candidates is the ol’ “tell me about yourself.” Your answer to this question should be anywhere from 30-90 seconds. Two candidates took 30 minutes (yes, minutes) to respond.
  • Never leaving your script: I have a feeling one candidate got a hold of my full list of interview questions from another candidate…because she stopped me at one point and told me I “missed one” that she really wanted to answer. She proceeded to tell me what the question was and clearly read her answer to it from a piece of paper.
  • Not truly wanting to work for my company: Nothing gets my attention more than a candidate who tells me she’d rather be in grad school or working at a law firm than my company. (Sarcasm.)

Unfortunately, this list could go on…and on. Some of you reading this might not even believe these stories because they seem too (trying not to write “stupid”)…unbelievable. I would never do something like that, you’re thinking. Really, are you sure? What I find unbelievable is that people would purposely tank job interviews. Perhaps it’s time you evaluate what you could be doing wrong in the eyes of hiring managers and recruiters…and do something about it.

The Power of Headlines: Captivate to Enhance Career Search

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You may know about Newser.com. This is the news aggregation site that summarizes the news item in a catchy two paragraph lead in, and then gives you the deeper links so you can see the original article. The site wins because of clever editing, headline writing and artwork selection. Try it for a few days and see if you are more addicted to the news.

How does this apply to your job search?

There are a couple of learnings here. First, it really demonstrates that we are a nation of fast skimmers and headline readers. So, next time you slave over the wording on page three of your resume, forget it. Most hiring managers people may even get that far. They give your resume 20 seconds. Next, it also shows the importance of having a voice in your communication efforts, resume or cover letter.

Let your personality shine through.  This is one area that is almost never discussed in the career arena. It’s almost like we all become professionalized and non-personal. Newser’s editor have a bit of an attitude, certainly a voice that comes through on each news item. Does your cover letter show something important? Anything valuable?

Your career is filled with Newser-style artwork and headlines. We know this. How would you create a Newser style resume using artwork and short headlines? It might give you some new ideas on how to present yourself to get noticed.

I realize that certain people are going to cringe at these ideas. Still, for some of you, your resumes are BORING. It occurs to me that one needs to stand out and be a bit different. So why not try?

First place to start would be your headlines, those phrases that break up all those accomplishments and objectives. Those are what the hiring managers, recruiters and HR profesionals read, don’t forget. So, take a tip from Newser, and spend more time on them.

To get started, here are 20 tips from How To Write Headlines by Leo Babauta:

Catchy  The first job of a headline is to grab the reader’s attention. It should do so appropriately and honestly, of course, but the headline is the way that you draw a reader into a story. If it doesn’t grab attention, it doesn’t matter what else the headline does. However, do not overdo it — if your reader is drawn to the story, and the headline oversold it, the reader will feel cheated and swindled. That’s not exactly the emotion you want to incite in your readers, I would guess. My note: There is a difference between catchy, clever and just weird.  Find the balance.

Be useful  The best headline will tell the reader what he will get out of reading this story. Will it teach you something you’ve always wanted to learn? Will it help you become smarter, stronger, better looking, better in bed? Will it help you become more informed? Will it give you the juicy gossip you’ve been craving? Whatever the story will do, it should have some use to the reader. The more useful, the better. My Note:  If the job description is clear on what they want, work that into the headline.

The main point  The headline should summarize the main point of an article. This is another of the headline’s biggest jobs (some would argue the biggest job). So to write the headline, you need to read over the article (or re-read it, if you wrote it) and figure out what the main point of the article is — and if it’s well written, that shouldn’t be too hard. If you don’t get the main point, or think that there’s 3 or 4 main points, the article hasn’t done its job. It should be rewritten. But at any rate, find that main point and summarize it in the headline. My note:  what is the ONE thing you are most proud of.  Announce that.

Curiosity  The best headlines will summarize a story, but leave you curious to find out more. “Why You Should Care About Technorati” or “The Secret to Making the Perfect Snowball” will leave some readers wanting more (maybe not all of you). My note: or why should they give you an interview, to find out MORE…

Succinct  Wordy headlines will lose a lot of readers. Sure, people should be able to read 15 little words, but they expect to get their info quickly. Don’t ask me why. Shorten a headline down to 5-10 words, eliminating all that’s unnecessary.

Controversy  There’s no better guarantee of catching a reader’s attention than to stir up a little controversy. Be bold, dare to incite a little indignation, or get the pulse racing just a bit. Don’t be moronic about it though. You don’t need to incite a riot. My note:  Here is where you can think about solving a problem they might have.

Specifics  Specific headlines are better than vague ones. Throw in a detail or two that will catch a reader’s interest — but don’t throw in the kitchen sink. This is why numbers in headlines work, no matter how many people hate them. You’re not going to give me “A bunch of tips” but instead “10 tips”. My note: key in any sales situation “Specificity sells.”

Magazines  If you want to get inspiration, look at the cover of magazines. Half the time they get them wrong, but sometimes you’ll find a great headline. I hate it when they oversell a story, but those magazine editors sure know how to write sexy headlines. Skip the Enquirer — they oversell. But magazines know the secret of headlines: it’s the headlines (and the sexy model) that sell the magazine. Same thing with your blog headlines.

Blogs  This should go without saying, but I’ll say it nonetheless — read good blogs. The successful blogs got where they are because they provide awesome content with headlines to match. And blogs that have been successful for some time have usually perfected the craft. Use them for inspiration.

The How To  There is probably no type of headline more likely to do well than the How To headline. Start a headline with those two words, and follow them with a skill that many people would like to learn, and you’ve got a winner. Well, most of the time. Don’t overdo it.  My note:  how to solve your problem in customer service will be better than 95% of the resumes that company gets today.

Lists, with numbers  Yes, they’re overdone, but that’s because they work. Look at a list of the most popular articles on delicious or Digg, and you’ll find list headlines — at least a few. I overdo them, actually, because just about every post I write has a list. It’s just the way I think. And if my post has a list, my headline will likely have a list as well. I had to resist suggesting a list headline for this post. “20 Tips for Writing Great Headlines”

Write several versions  Challenge yourself to write the best headline possible. Don’t just go with your first attempt. Write that down, then do 3 or 4 more tries. Test each headline by saying it out loud. Look over these guidelines and see if any of them will help the headline. Say it out loud to your spouse or best friend or your mom. Which one catches their attention? Sometimes a clever headline will sound confusing to others.My note:  you should have a new resume for every job you want, done after you have done the research.

Question headline  Sometimes the best headline poses a question. It makes the reader want to find the answer. Or it alerts the reader to an interesting debate. Give the question headline a try — it might work for your article. My note: or resume.

Write a command headline  Tell the reader what to do. Sometimes a command headline can be too bossy — but other times, it’s just the advice the reader was looking for.

Be detached  In print journalism, a detached editor writes the headline. The writer is too close to the story, and is biased. She thinks every word is important, every point is the main point. And no headline is good enough. If you’re writing your own blog headlines, you should become detached. Write a headline, leave it for awhile, come back to it. Try to see it as an outsider would see it — someone who hasn’t read your article yet.  My note: friends, spouses and even HR people are great add-on readers. Just ask.

Find balance  You need to find the middle line between being boring and being crazy. It’s not always easy. “20 Ways to Write a Great Headline” is better than “Headline Writing” but not as strong as “Write a Perfect Headline or Your Blog Will Fail and So Will You”.

Key verb  Try this exercise: find a strong verb that best fits the story. Then find other words in the story to go around the verb to form a sentence that summarizes the story. Then shorten that sentence to make a great headline.  My note: this takes work and should include a dictionary, at least.

Short, active words  Prefer short words to long ones, and active words to passive ones. Avoid jargon and acronyms. And feel free to be creative and break any of these rules if it works.

Double check  Before you go to print with your article (or press “Publish”), check over your headline again. Read it for spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, punctuation mistakes, factual mistakes (the headline is the worst place to make these mistakes). Make sure it makes sense, and that it does its job.

Write it first  Don’t save the headline for last. It’s too important, and when you’re done with a post you just want to write the darn headline and be done with it. Write the headline first — this allows you to know your main point before you even start writing. Then rewrite the headline later, and give it some time to get right.